Outboard motor test and service stand



Nov. 5, 1963 L. A. HUNZIKER OUTBOARD MOTOR TEST AND SERVICE STAND 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 14, 1959 IN VENTOR.

LOUIS A. HUNZIKER ATTORNEY Nov. 5, 1963 1 A. HUNZIKER OUTBOARD MOTORTEST AND SERVICE STAND 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 14, 1959 R O T m MLOUIS A. HUNZIKER United States Patent 3,109,304 OUTBQARD MGTOR TEST ANDSERVICE STAND Louis A. Hunziker, 783 Commerce Ave, Longview, Wash. FiledDec. 14, 19553, Ser. No. 859,529 1 Claim. (Cl. 73-116) This inventionrelates to apparatus for use in connection with the servicing andtesting of outboard marine engines.

Outboard motors have become so large and heavy that they can no longerbe manually lifted on and off the service bench and into and out of thetest tank in tuning up the motors and doing routine service and repairwork thereon. The handling of such large motors has come to present aconsiderable problem because in tuning up a motor it is often necessaryto place it in the tank repeatedly for testing as certain adjustmentsare being made. The shifting of the motor from the work bench to thetest tank and back again has heretofore required overhead chain hoistsor the like, the use of which entails the placing and removal ofsuitable slings each time the motor is moved, not to mention the mounting and dismounting of the motor in the tank. Thus, a relatively simpletune-up operation is considerably complicated and prolonged by theproblem of handling and moving the motor.

The objects of the present invention are, therefore, to provide noveland improved power operated means for lifting an outboard motor into andout of a test tank, to provide a combined service and test stand whichvu'll support and carry the motor during both the servicing and thetesting operations thereon, to provide a test stand of the typedescribed which will received an outboard motor directly from a handtruck on the door without requiring auxiliary hoisting mechanism, toprovide a novel transom board support on which a motor may be leftmounted throughout all servicing and testing operations and to providean improved test tank for outboard motors.

In general, the present device comprises an air cylinder having avertical ram equipped with a transom board which is movable bothvertically and in rotation about the axis of the cylinder. The transomboard may be lowered outside the tank to receive the motor directly froma hand truck and then the transom board may be raised and pivoted toswing the motor over the edge of the tank and lower it into the tank fortesting. The ram will support the motor at any convenient level outsidethe tank for service work and adjustments. The motor is not removed fromthe transom board until all service work and adjustments have beencompleted and fully tested. The weight and broad base of the tank areutilized to support and stabilize the lift cylinder as the motor israised to swing to its difierent positions.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become apparent asthe description proceeds in connection with a preferred embodiment ofthe invention illustrated on the accompany drawings. Various changes maybe made, however, in the construction and arrangement of parts andcertain features may be used without others, all such modificationswithin the scope of the appended claim being included in the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of a combined test and service standembodying the features of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary elevation view looking in the direction of theline 22 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan View;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line hlddfiddi PatentedNov. 5, 1963 "ice 2 44 of FIGURE 3, showing means for locking theposition of the transom board in the tank;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 55 in FIGURE3, showing a motor being lowered to test position in the tank; and 7FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary top plan view with parts in section, showingmeans on the transom board for locking the steering movement of themotor.

The tank 16 in FIGURE 1 is preferably made of sheet metal with acylindrical side wall and a fiat bottom adapted to rest on the floorwhereby the tank is portable and may be placed in any convenientposition in the shop. As shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, the top of the tankis partially covered with a fiat top wall 11 which is adapted to serveas a work bench for tools and parts. This work surface 11 is depressedbelow the top rim 12 of the side wall of the tank for retaining thetools and parts on the work bench surface. Top wall 11 is pro vided witha large opening 13 at one side to receive the motor to be tested and asmaller opening 14 at the opposite side for communication with a suctionfan for removing exhaust gases from the motor during test operation. Theopening 13- is surrounded by an upstanding rim 15 and the opening 14 issurrounded by an upstanding rim or collar 16 for connection with thesuction duct, now shown. The 12 also provides support for the hangers 17of a portable tool tray 18. The rim 15 is equipped with a vertical guidechannel 20 having a pair of spaced parallel outstanding flanges 21 whichare divergent at their upper ends as indicated at 22. The purpose ofthis gu-ideway will appear as the description proceeds.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, a vertical air cylinder 25 is securelyanchored to the outside of the tank side wall adjacent the opening 13 bymounting blocks 23 welded to the tank at 24-. It is also within thescope of the invention to provide other suitable means, such as bandclamps or the like, for securing the cylinder to existing test tanks inlieu of welding. The tank thereby provides a broad and stable basewhich, when partially filled with water, has sufficient weight to resistoverturning moments which may be applied to cylinder 25.

Cylinder 25 is equipped with an elongatedpiston or ram 26 which isconnected at its upper end with the upper offset end 27 of a dependingarm 28. Arm 28 extends vertically parallel with the ram 26 and cylinder25 in spaced relation to the cylinder, as shown. Mounted on the lowerend of arm 28 is an outstanding transom board 30 having the approximatethickness and inclination of the transom of a boat. Mounted on the outerfree end of transom board 30 is a vertical guide plate 31.

Transom board 30 is shown in solid lines in FIGURE 1 lowered outsidetank 10 in a position to receive the outboard motor M directly from atwo-wheeled hand truck whereby the motor is transferred from the handtruck to the transom board and mounted thereon without lifting themotor. Such trucks are designed to support the motor from its stern sidewhereby the truck may be tipped forward to hook the conventional C-clampsupports 32 on the motor over the upper edge of the transom board. Clampscrews 33 are then tightened on the transom board.

When ram 26 is lifted by air pressure it may be rotated around to theposition shown in broken lines, swinging the lower end of the motor overthe top of the tank and placing the motor in a position directly aboveopening 13. Then by lowering ram 26 the motor is lowered into the tankfor testing. As the transom board is lowered into opening 13, verticalguide plate 31 is manipulated into guideway 20, as shown in FIGURE 4, tolock the transom board against rotation on the vertical axis of the ram26.

FIGURE 1 further shows a control panel 35 mounted on the side of tank10. A compressed air supply pipe 36 is connected with an adjustable.pressure regulating valve 37 which reduces the pressure to a valueappropriate for the weight of motor to be lifted. The air pressure asthus adjusted is registered on a pressure gauge 38. The air pressuresupply to ram cylinder pipe 39 is controlled by a conventional rotaryvalve 49. Pipe 39 connects at 41 with the lower end of cylinder 25 belowthe bottom end of ram 25.

In one position of the valve 40 compressed air is admitted into pipe 39to raise the ram 26. The ram may be held in any desired verticalposition by closing the valve 40 to a hold position which closes pipe 39against inlet or egress of air. When it is desired to lower the ram,valve 49 is turned to a down position which permits the air to escapeslowly from pipe 39 as it is forced out of the cylinder by the load onthe ram. Thus, by means of the valve 40, the ram may be held in anyselected vertical position while work is being performed on the motor M.This is of particular advantage in working on the propeller or otherparts at the lower end of the motor since these parts may then be placedin a convenient and readily accessible position by raising the ram ashigh as desired. The water in tank provides suificient weightdistributed over a broad base to prevent overturning with the heaviestmotor in any possible position.

The motor is mounted on transom board 250 by means of the -C-clamps 32and screws 33, the same as it would be mounted on the transom of a boat.As has already been explained, the transom board 36 is locked againstrotation in the tank by means of vertical guide plate 31 which isengaged by the guideway, 20. Steering movement of the motor must also belocked relative to the transom board. This is accomplished with thedevice shown. in FIGURE 6. The supporting arm 28 is equipped with a stud50 having a pivotal mounting 51 for an arm 52. Arm 52 is pivotallyconnected with an arm 53 through a clamp screw 54 which may be tightenedto make the joint rigid. Mounted on the other end of arm 53 is a doublejointed adapter 55 having a connector 55 which may be secured by a bolt57 to a frame element 60 on the motor. This is the frame element towhich the tiller handle is normally attachedfor turning the motor aboutits vertical pivotal axis on its mounting bracket 32 for steering theboat. Adapter 55 is arranged to make operative connection with acorresponding part of other motors which may vary in size and details ofconstruction. In mounting the motor it is turned on its steering pivotto its normal position for straight-forward drive, placing the axis ofits propeller shaft approximately perpendicular to transom board 3%. Themotor is held rigidly in this position by tightening clamp 54 whichfixes the angle between arms 52 and 53 so that the motor cannot t tenpivot on its steering axis.

When the motor is thus secured to the transom board 36 and the latter islowered into the tank through opening 13 and locked in vertical guideway26, the propeller is disposed at one side of the center of the tank withits axis approximately tangential and perpendicular to an imaginaryradius drawn from the propeller to the center of the tank. When themotor is operated, the water is circulated around the inside of the tankin substantially streamlined flow to simulate most nearly the conditionof operation on a boat. In most test tanks heretofore proposed, actualoperating conditions have not been duplicated to provide a good testbecause in most cases the water current from the propeller is drivendirectly against the opposite side or end of the tank without provisionsmall motors are not submerged to their normal depth and large motorsare submerged to an excessive depth thereby again departing from normaloperating conditions on a boat. In the use of the present device, whenthe motor is lowered into the tank, the valve 40 is turned to its holdposition when the motor is submerged precisely to its correct depthwhereby motors of all sizes may be submerged to the proper depth fortesting.

In tuning up a motor, the motor may be tested in the tank and thenreturned to its full line position in FIG- URE 1 for further adjustmentrepeatedly without any substantial effort or Waste of time on the partof the operator. This is particularly important because many adjustmentson a sensitive internal combustion engine are largely a matter of trialand error, requiring numerous test runs before the operator will besatisfied that the motor is functioning in optimum condition. Thefacility of the present device fosters more painstaking work on the partof the mechanic.

The motor is not removed from the transom board 30 until all adjustmentsand tests are completed. Then it is only necessary for the operator towheel the conventional motor hand truck up to engage the stern side ofthe motor in its FIGURE 1 solid line position,the transom board beinglowered to transfer the weight of the motor to the truck so that nolifting is required. In this way, complex outboard motor mechanisms maybe quickly adjusted and tuned to perfection without the use of thecustomary work bench and overhead chain hoist whereby both the servicingand testing are accomplished with facility and dispatch.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may beused, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

An outboard motor test and service stand comprising a tank, a verticalcylinder mounted on a side wall of said tank, a piston having anupwardly extending piston rod in said cylinder, a downwardly extendingvertical arm having an offset upper end connected with the upper end ofsaid piston rod, a transom board radial to said cylinder and having aninner end connected to the lower end of said arm, said piston havingvertical and rotary movements in said cylinder for shifting said'transomboard from a position outside said tank to a position inside said tank,a cover on said tank having an opening to admit said transom board witha motor mounted thereon, a vertical guide channel mounted on said coverwithin said opening, and a vertical guide plate on the outer end of saidtransom board slidable in said guide channel as said transom board islowered into the tank, said tank being cylindrical and said guidechannel and guide plate being in radial position at one side of thecenter of the tank so that said motor will circulate Water in the tankaround the tank in circular flow concentric with the center of the tank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,149,141 Hunsicker Feb. 28, 1939 2,662,399 Chapman Dec. 15, 19532,725,093 Saelen -4 Nov. 29, 1955 2,779,949 Crispen z Feb. 5, 19572,831,345 Wolf et a1 Apr. 22, 1958

